Kaye report finds 'errors of judgment,' but no charges

ALBANY — Gov. David Paterson’s actions toward a woman pursuing domestic violence charges against an administration staffer do not warrant charges but were “errors of judgment,” investigators concluded in a report released Wednesday.

But Paterson did initiate contact with the woman, Sherr-una Booker, after the alleged incident of abuse the evening of Halloween 2009. Charges may still be warranted against Johnson, and evidence unearthed by the office of the Attorney General will be forwarded to Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson, the report notes.

The AG’s office investigated the matter at the request of the governor, after reports in the New York Times that he had contact with Booker on the eve of a court hearing. Andrew Cuomo, then a political rival of Paterson for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination but not a declared candidate, named former Court of Appeals head Judith Kaye as independent counsel to examine the matter.

“The Independent Counsel finds no evidence that the State Police or the Executive Chamber interfered with the NYPD response to the October 31, 2009 domestic incident. However, evidence revealed errors in the NYPD response to the incident and errors in judgment following the incident by the head of the Governor’s State Police protection detail, by Johnson and another close aide to the Governor, and indeed by the Governor himself,” the report says.

“There were numerous telephone contacts between the Governor and Booker, some that he initiated even after he became aware of the serious nature of her accusations, and even just after he referred this matter to the OAG. Regardless of any good faith reasons on the part of the Governor for contacts that he initiated, these were errors of judgment.”

The scandal prompted the retirement of State Police Superintendent Harry Corbitt as well as the resignation of State Police Superintendent Pedro Perez. Marissa Shorenstein, Paterson’s press secretary, also resigned as did Denise O’Donnell, chief of the Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Johnson was suspended without pay in February. He was not among the 30 witnesses — including Paterson — who spoke to investigators, opting instead to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.

Booker last week spoke publicly about the incident for the first time, and has called on District Attorney Johnson to re-open an investigation into the matter.

As the charges and probe first became public, several lawmakers called for Paterson’s resignation and many others called for him to abandon his bid for a full term. He ended his campaign Feb. 26, less than a week after its official kickoff. He instead used $700,000 of his campaign funds to pay for his legal defense, retaining Theodore V. Wells.

Since then, the governor has regained his political footing and, freed from the pressures of electoral ambition taken tougher-than-previous stances against the legislature. While he faces political fallout, what was once a chorus of voices calling him unfit to stay in office has declined to a whisper.

But others note the hypocrisy in Paterson’s situation, given a long record of fighting for victims of domestic violence. According to Michele McKeon of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the fact that he was not charged underscores problems in the law.

“It adds to the frustration,” she said. “This case, as in many other high profile cases, highlights the experience of domestic violence victims every single day. Whether it’s the governor of the state of New York, or the mother of a batterer, or the sister of a batterer, they seem to get away with it.”

Today’s finding do not delve into the second Paterson-Johnson mess, concerning the governor’s receipt of Yankees tickets and his allegedly false statements to investigators concerning their acquisition.